


Have You Heard the News?

by PippinPips



Series: Zombie Apocalypse 'Verse [1]
Category: The Avengers (2012), X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Gen, Heavily influenced by L4D2, M/M, Pre-Slash, Zombies, birthday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-28
Updated: 2012-07-28
Packaged: 2017-11-10 21:46:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/471041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PippinPips/pseuds/PippinPips
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em> He wasn’t callous enough to feel completely comfortable with bashing in the heads of people who were once humans. However, after the thirteenth day in the second month after all hell broke loose, Charles was a little less squeamish with how he brandished his cricket bat. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The world's all gone to hell, but there's at least something in having allies. Especially ones who are kind of <strong>Super</strong></p>
            </blockquote>





	Have You Heard the News?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mia_wallace](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mia_wallace/gifts).



> In which Charles and Erik meet up with the Avengers and Shenanigans are had.

He wasn’t callous enough to feel completely comfortable with bashing in the heads of people who were once humans. However, after the thirteenth day in the second month after all hell broke loose, Charles was a little less squeamish with how he brandished his cricket bat.  He had watched as Erik had gone through the chain saw and then after a few days of travel, he’d found his beloved crowbar, in which he would often drag his hand across to make sure it was still very much still on his person. There were also guns, but guns jammed and often times it took a while before they could find ammo. Erik was uncannily good at finding metal, but Charles didn’t ask. Just as Erik ignored how Charles could find survivors in even in the most ramshackle places.

 

It had been how they found Logan and Scott seventeen days prior, and it had been how Charles had found Erik one month and twelve days ago. Most of the other survivors would join them for a little while, usually up until they found a safe place to crash for the night. Eventually they would get on Erik’s nerves or Erik would get on their nerves and then it’d be back to Charles and Erik braving the hordes of zombies with a cricket bat, a crow bar, a couple of guns and probably some pain pills they filched from the medicine cabinet.

 

 

But it was Month Two, Day Thirteen, that Charles is sure he’ll remember in particular. They’d managed to find a water source and were able to fill some bottles before they both took turns washing up. Charles had gone first, scrubbing at his dirty skin encrusted with blood and other disgusting things, while Erik kept watch. He diligently kept his mind away from Erik’s, as he only companion he didn’t want to scare the other man away by ignoring his privacy. Still as he dragged the dirty cloth across his chest, he glances up to see the Erik has been watching him. The other man glances away and shifts the rifle he picked up thirty-two houses ago. Charles’ stomach plummeted before he regained himself. Maybe if he wasn’t in the middle of a damned bloody apocalypse and he’d just met Erik in a bar, then maybe he would call the other man over. But it was already going to be hard enough when they could no longer go on and one of them would have to kill the other. Charles is fairly certain Erik would be the one to pull the trigger or beat him over the head, and he really wouldn’t have it any other way. Erik was a survivor. Charles pulls his clothes on and motions towards the water.

 

 

“All yours.” Erik doesn’t smile; Charles isn’t sure if Erik just never smiles or if now there is nothing for him to smile about. The taller man stripes rather efficiently, folding his clothing, and then begins to clean the dirt from his skin. Charles tries his best to keep his gaze to himself, instead he focuses on stretching out his powers. His abilities don’t work on the creatures. For the most part he can sense that there should be something there, but it’s all hazy and warped. He’s pretty sure they could end it all now if he could just control them someway. Instead, however, Charles searches for survivors. He’s just about bring himself back when he feels it. It’s a mind he hasn’t touched in a long time. A dear friend. Charles’ face breaks into a smile before turning back to Erik. Erik, who has a gloriously proportioned body in which makes Charles wishes he cared a little less about surviving and a little more about getting laid, for only a moment, before he calls to Erik, “Clothes on! I think we might find a group!” Erik doesn’t ask him how he knows. Instead the taller man merely pulls his clothing on before bringing his crowbar to his side. He looks absolutely menacing as he stalks forward. Absolutely fetching and menacing. Charles shakes his head, and focuses on finding that mind again. It’s surrounded by other minds as well.

 

“How many?” Erik questions.

 

“We’ll have to see.” He won’t say there are four minds. While he’s fairly certain Erik is also a mutant so the strange things around them could very easily be answered, Charles feels as if bringing that up would be a little out of turn. He walks forward and leads them through the more quiet areas before they come upon the group. Four people, four minds. All of them are dirty and tired looking, though most of them keep on a good game face. Behind him, Charles knows that Erik is tensing up. Month Two, Day Thirteen is the day Charles finds Tony Stark is very much alive and well. Charles doesn’t jump, he doesn’t try to over react, fast movements are usually ones that the hordes make. He turns to Erik and says, “I know one of them. They’re good people.” Erik snorts, but he doesn’t disagree.

 

They head down the incline and Charles is very well aware at how tense the other group is. He can feel how they almost lost one of them trying to get into a safe place, while the horde crashed against them. He cups a hand around his lips and calls out, “Are you survivors?” At his back, Erik hisses in displeasure.

 

“Not so loud,” he growls. Charles doesn’t so much ignore him as to he just focuses on Tony’s group and makes sure he helps his childhood friend in finding him.

 

“Charlie?” Tony calls back. Charles barely manages not to cringe because by the time he looks back Tony is practically jogging towards him now ignoring the blond who is calling him back. The other two members of the group peel off, but they don’t come nearer instead one takes a couple steps back as if he’s making sure to have a wide view, and the other starts to disappear in a sense.

 

“I see you do know him,” Erik comments.

 

“Who is the boyfriend, Charlie? You would manage to shack up during a zombie apocalypse. I taught you well.” It’s the first full thing Tony says to him before he claps Charles on the shoulder and gives Erik a brief once over. “Glad you made it out though. You two looking for a party to join?”

 

“Tony,” the blond man sounds exasperated as he climbs up the incline. The woman follows at a distance, but the last male stays back. “Hello. Sorry if he’s bothering you.”

 

“Cap, it’s no bother. This Charlie, the one I told you about. He wants to join our party.”

 

“I never said I want to join the party, Tony, honestly. I’m just ecstatic that you are indeed alive, and did you call him Cap?”

 

“Yeah, as in Captain America, Hulk went AWOL a little while ago. I think he might have decided to play with a Tank for a while. Don’t worry, big guy can handle himself, and he’ll be back soon enough.” Charles nods slowly. He never in his life expected to run into Captain America, much less the rest of the Avengers team. It’s all very odd. Of course he knows who Tony is, still as he looks back at Erik he can see the other man is just as stunned as he is, though Erik keeps most of it off of his face. “So you wanna join the party Charlie? You can be our White Mage.” Charles glances back at Erik once more. A group that large will soon get on Erik’s nerves he knows this, but it’s Tony.

 

“I need to speak to Erik about this,” Charles says. He moves towards Erik and dips his head. “For a little while, can we?” He wants to keep Erik with him, but he also doesn’t want to lose Tony so soon after they’ve just met up again. Erik’s lips stretch into a frown before he glances down at the ground before him.

 

“Just until the next safe room, if I want to kill all of them by then I’m going my own way.” Charles can hear the with or without you, and he know Erik can take care of himself also that Tony can as well. But Charles knows, he knows if Erik goes he’ll go too because it’s Erik.

 

“We’ll join up for a little while,” Charles promises. Tony pats him on the back and Captain America, who introduces himself as plain old Steve Rogers, welcomes them to the group. The other two keep their distance and their own council as they all start on their way. For the most part it goes well. Erik gravitates more towards the silent members of the group while Charles finds himself the butt of every raunchy story Tony decides to tell Steve, just to see the pink on the blond man’s face. All in all it’s fairly well. Until they get on a bridge.

 

“Hey, Charliiiieeeee, We’re on a bridge Charlieeeee.” As if the nickname wasn’t bad enough, Tony pitches his voice higher and just grins at him.

 

“Tony stop, please,” Charles pleads as the other man continues on. He carries on up until they hear it. The weeping. Everyone stops. The quiet man behind him pulls out a bow and an arrow, training it on the area where they can hear it.

 

“Can we get around it?” Steve asks. The woman shakes her head.

 

“Looks like we’ll have to do this one the hard way then,” Erik says. He readies himself. They’re all tense ready to jump out of their skin when Tony turns around and grins at Charles.

 

“So, who wants to startle her?” The bow and arrow man steps forward, the shaft still notched.

 

“I will.” With that the arrow is released. The noise that comes after is one that Charles is sure he’ll always hate, but they form around the arrow man pelting the witch up until a car falls on her. Everyone but Charles looks for something else, like they’re expecting someone to be there. Charles just turns to Erik who returns his hand to his side and looks at Charles like he has no idea why the man is looking at him.

 

“Sometimes cars are just unstable.” He says with a shrug.

 

“Right.” Charles agrees. He knows how Tony feels about mutants, but he’s not quite sure how the rest of the group feels, and despite the fact that he really wants to dive in and find out, he respects their privacy more. Instead he lets out a loud whistle and says, “Well that was eventful. Shall we?”  

 

They continue on, and Tony refrains from yelling about the bridge, though that’s more to do with the horde of creatures that swarm them soon after the witch. Charles swings his cricket bat with gusto smacking it into decaying flesh and becoming once more covered and grime and other things. He turns to look how the others are doing only to notice that they’re all quite apt at beating the holy living hell out of each and every one of those things. He takes a moment to admire everyone’s footwork, and if he stares at Erik a little longer than necessary that isn’t really something to comment on. All is going well when a giant green monster comes crashing through a crowd of the zombies. Flattening them to the ground.

 

“Hey, Big Guy! Glad you could join us!” Tony greets. The thing, which Charles assumes to be Hulk, roars at Tony in greeting back before he swings a might fist down on a jockey. Charles steps back, allowing the Hulk more room to continue his utter decimation of the horde only to find himself back to back with Erik.

 

“They’re rather handy allies,” he offers up. Charles swings and catches one of the few creatures that made it past Hulk at the temple. Erik fares about the same, keeping them at a distance.

 

“Not too bad traveling companions as long as that _Tony_ keeps chattering towards you,” Erik agrees.

 

“Does that mean we’re staying?” Charles ventures an ask. Erik hums.

 

“Until further notice.” It’s the best he’ll get out of the man, but Charles can’t help but grin as he knocks another stray away. It’s all perfect until the woman, Nat he believes the bow and arrow man calls her, yells out.

 

“TANK!” There is another call for “Charger!” It feels like everything is piling up on them and Charles can barely think of how they’re going to survive this. Until a hammer comes out of nowhere, it cracks against a horde of the zombies knocking them all back.

 

“You will not prevail!”

 

“Glad you could join us,” Nat says dryly. The man is tall, taller than Erik and moves with a grace and power as he slams his weapon through the zombies. There is still the Tank to worry about, but the Hulk seems to be dealing just fine with the large creature for the moment. Still, Charles watches just long enough to see Erik send a bus hurtling towards the creature.

 

“What sort of madness brings creatures like these here?” the man demands. Tony, with an axe—Charles wonders who thought it was a good idea to give that man an axe, calls back.

 

“Explain-y time is later! Right now, is survival mode!”

 

It’s painful, bloody and damn exhausting but eventually they make it across the bridge. Charles is pretty sure he’s just going to collapse on the ground the second they get to a safe place. All he wants to do is sleep and maybe ask Tony who the hell everyone is. There are a few stragglers that they have to take care of, but nothing like the mass the bridge brought down on them.

 

“There’s a house up ahead,” Nat tells them. Steven seems to think it all over before he nods.

 

“Natasha, You and Clint check it out. Make sure there’s a spot we can bed down for the night. We’ll stay here.” The two quiet ones head off towards the house and everything had died down enough that Charles can settle beside Tony and inquire about things.

 

“You have a large group.”

 

“Yep.”

 

“Care do to the introductions?” Charles asks.

 

“Ah, c’mon Charlie where is the fun in that? You already know Cap and Hulk?” He gestures to a kind faced man with sad eyes that the Hulk turned into once the flood ended. “Can’t ruin it all for you.”

 

“I can ruin it for myself. I’m just trying to be polite.”

 

“And that’s why you’re forever the cheater, Charlie. So, your boyfriend he like you too?” Tony asks. He looks at where Erik is standing near Steve as they apparently share strategies. The tall blonde man is there as well.

 

“That’s his place to tell you,” Charles whispers. Erik looks nearly perfect with the cut above his eyebrow the very one Charles offered to use part of his medical pack to heal only to be gently brushed off.

 

“Uh-huh. Well then Charlie. It’s good to see you back in the saddle. Timing is pretty much shit. But hey. Good to see it. Hey! Cap looks like the scouts are back!” Tony gestures towards Natasha and Clint.

 

“All clear.” Clint says. “There’s actually some untouched supplies so we might as well stock up.”

 

Erik has already returned to Charles side, his hand resting on Charles’ shoulder. He looks a little strained, and Charles wonders for a moment if their until further notice is up.

 

“Big group,” he comments.

 

“Is that a problem?” Charles asks. Erik looks down at him.

 

“No. But we should probably get to the house soon before everything is spoken for.” Charles smiles, and if he looks hard enough he’s pretty sure there’s a small curl of Erik’s lips as well.

 

“Well then. Shall we?” Neither one speaks as they race towards the house.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Why isn't this in the Birthday Fic series? It's a Birthday Fic? 
> 
> Because self, this is part of a whole new series. An awesome one at that!


End file.
